While there were no photography lots in the Evening sale to tempt well-heeled collectors, the photography available in Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Art sales in New York largely performed to expectations. The top lot Andreas Gursky print found a buyer, and with a reasonable Buy-In rate for photography (just over 17%) and a few positive surprises (including a Cindy Sherman film still), the Total Sale Proceeds for photography found their way to the middle of the aggregate pre-sale estimate range.
The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):
| Summary Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total Lots | 35 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale Low Estimate | $3720000 |
| Aggregate Pre Sale High Estimate | $5400000 |
| Total Lots Sold | 29 |
| Total Lots Bought In | 6 |
| Buy In % | 17.14% |
| Total Sale Proceeds | $4660250 |
Here is the breakdown (using our typical Low, Mid, and High definitions):
| Detailed Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Low Total Lots | 0 |
| Total Low Lots Sold | NA |
| Total Low Lots Bought In | NA |
| Low Buy In % | NA |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Low Lots | $0 |
| Total Proceeds from Low Lots | $0 |
| Mid Total Lots | 11 |
| Total Mid Lots Sold | 10 |
| Total Mid Lots Bought In | 1 |
| Mid Buy In % | 9.09% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of Mid Lots | $370000 |
| Total Proceeds from Mid Lots | $393750 |
| Total High Lots | 24 |
| Total High Lots Sold | 19 |
| Total High Lots Bought In | 5 |
| High Buy In % | 20.83% |
| Aggregate High Estimate of High Lots | $5030000 |
| Total Proceeds from High Lots | $4266500 |
The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 448, Andreas Gursky, Avenue of the Americas, 2001, estimated at $450000-650000. It was also the top photography outcome of the sales at $759000 (image above, via Sotheby’s).
100.00% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range and there were a total of 3 positive surprises in the sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate) (images above via Sotheby’s):
Lot 131, Gerhard Richter, Untitled (5.2.1991), 1991, estimated at $30000-40000, sold at $93750
Lot 445, Sigmar Polke, Untitled, 1975, estimated at $40000-60000, sold at $218750
Lot 454, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #39, 1979, estimated at $80000-120000, sold at $362500
The complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).
